Shadows of the Dragon God

Keep on the Shadowfell

29

MAR/10

Our story began in Suzail in the kingdom of Cormyr, when a party of adventurers were hired on by Douven Staul of the Suzail Adventurer’s Guild (a local hiring service) to map out an abandoned keep to the North outside Winterfell.

The party encountered an ambush of kobolds on the road to Winterfell, but quickly dispatched them. After spending a night in town, they learned more about the abandoned keep from the townsfolk and accepted a quest from the local Lord to rid the area of kobolds and make safe the area for his people.

The party ventured into the keep and thoroughly swept out every room within, leaving no stone unturned. The party freed a relatively tame and talkative goblin named Splurg held captive by the occupying goblins in the keep and allowed him to join the adventuring party, for the time being. Splurg took quickly to the bard and followed him closely.

After a long fight, the party decided to camp for the night in one of the cleaned out goblin areas. Upon waking, Aida was missing and there was no sign of struggle. The party decided to press on in hopes of finding her deeper within the keep.

After braving a small horde of undead and vicious traps laid by the architects of the dungeon, the party arrived at inner sanctum of Kalarel, priest of the evil god Orcus. Kalarel was attempting to open a portal to the Shadowfell. The goblin and the halfling had been captured and were about to be sacrificed in his dark ritual. The party managed to fight through the undead guards and defeat Kalarel, who was sucked into the half-open portal to the Shadowfell as the gate collapsed. Splurg and Aida were rescued, though Aida lay unconcious.

The party returned as heroes to the town of Winterfell, though they did not linger there for long before getting a horse and cart to transport the still unconscious Aida back to Suzail for proper healing.

(The events of this entry are based on the D&D module Keep on the Shadowfell, not designed specifically for the Forgotten Realms but adapted to fit in this campaign. As this was my first time running a 4th edition campaign, as well as my players’ first time playing in one, it seemed best to run an established and pre-balanced module before diving headfirst into the larger world.)